11 months after her death, the Supreme Court has ruled that Catherine Nevin’s conviction for the murder of her husband can be relied on by his family in their bid to ensure her estate does not benefit from his.
Ms Nevin died in a hospice last February having been given compassionate temporary release from her life sentence for the murder of her husband Tom, at their Pub Jack Whites Inn in Wicklow in March 1996.
Before she died, she had appealed an earlier ruling that the conviction could be used to block her from inheriting anything from her husband's estate. Lawyers for Ms Nevin’s estate had argued the conviction did not amount to proof of her guilt of Tom Nevin’s murder and was proof only she was “found guilty”.
However according to the Irish Times, a five-judge Supreme Court this morning unanimously dismissed the appeal, finding that her conviction could be used in a civil action to prevent her estate from gaining from Tom Nevin’s estate.